A government study shows that people who drink coffee often have
lower risk of death from disease, when compared to people who drink
little or no coffee at all.

Dr. Freedman said the next step is to learn
more about the various compounds in coffee and how they may be
related to improved health.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online):
The study involved more than 400,000 men and women between the
ages of 50 to 71, making it the largest study having to do with
coffee and health. Although coffee contains caffeine, which may
increase heart rate and blood pressure, the drink also contains
hundreds of compounds and antioxidants that benefit one's
health.

The National Institutes of Health observed health and diet
information that was collected from questionnaires filled out by
229,119 men and 173,141 women who were American Association of
Retired Persons (AARP) members between 1995-1996. By 2008,
52,000 had died.

When researchers controlled the risks of the relationship
between coffee drinkers and smokers, the results showed that the
more coffee that is consumed, the less likely he or she would
die from health problems that include diabetes, heart disease,
respiratory disease, stroke, infections, and even accidents.

During the 14-year study, the risk of dying was found to be
roughly 10 percent lower for men and 15 percent lower for women
who drank from two to six or more cups of coffee a day.

Neal D. Freedman, the lead author for the study and an
investigator for the National Cancer Institute, warned that the
results showed only the association between coffee consumption
and lower risk for disease, so it isn't known for sure whether
drinking more coffee will lead to better health by itself.

"It's a modest effect," he said. "But the biggest concern for a
long time has been that drinking coffee is a risky thing to do.
Our results, and some of those of more recent studies, provide
reassurance for coffee drinkers that this isn't the case. The
people who are regularly drinking coffee have a similar risk of
death as nondrinkers, and there might be a modest benefit.''

"It's estimated there are 1,000 or more compounds in coffee,''
said Dr. Freedman, referring to learning about different
compounds in coffee and how they can improve health. "All of
these could affect health in different ways. It might be due to
one of the many compounds in coffee, or a number of them working
together."